Martin Brodeur was flawless for the New Jersey Devils on a night when Henrik Lundqvist, his counterpart for the New York Rangers, threatened to match him save for save.
Patrik Elias scored the only goal in the shootout, Brodeur earned his fourth shutout in the past 10 games, and the Devils beat the Rangers, 1-0, last night at Madison Square Garden.
“It was a fun game,’’ Brodeur said. “Both goalies had to be excellent to push it to overtime. Even in overtime, both of us made a couple of saves.
“I know people like offense, but it was a pretty entertaining game. It was thrilling. I had to shut them down to win. It was just one of those games.’’
Elias connected in the fourth round, snapping a shot past Lundqvist’s glove.
With the shutout, Brodeur extended his NHL record to 107, making 51 saves through overtime and four more in the shootout.
Lundqvist stopped a career-high 45 shots through OT to earn his second shutout this season.
“It was a 0-0 game but there was a lot of action out there,’’ Lundqvist said.
As was the case all game, Brodeur was razor-sharp in the shootout, stopping Erik Christensen, Ales Kotalik, Marian Gaborik, and Brandon Dubinsky.
Elias ended the suspense, giving the Eastern Conference-leading Devils their 15th win in 19 games.
“I just wanted to get it up high, go from the right side and see if I can keep him guessing a little bit on what I’m going to do,’’ Elias said. “Then I just kind of let it go.’’
It ended a frantic stretch for the Devils as they took the ice for the fourth time in five nights. Friday’s game in Newark was suspended midway through the second period because of a lighting malfunction at the Prudential Center. They headed to Montreal for a 2-1 overtime victory Saturday. Then it was back to New Jersey Sunday evening for the completion of the suspended game, a 4-2 win by Tampa Bay.
Sharks 3, Coyotes 1 - Patrick Marleau scored two more goals to stay ahead of the NHL with 31 and added an assist to spark visiting San Jose. Dany Heatley scored his 27th goal and Joe Thornton added his league-leading 49th assist for the Sharks, who won their second straight and third in a row over the Coyotes.
Islanders 6, Red Wings 0 - Rob Schremp posted his first two-goal game in the NHL, and Dwayne Roloson earned perhaps the easiest shutout of his career - making just 16 saves - as host New York prevailed.
Detroit, the defending Western Conference champion, is below the playoff cutoff and is in danger of missing the postseason for the first time since 1990.
Flyers 6, Stars 3 - Simon Gagne, Darroll Powe, and Ian Laperriere each had a goal and an assist to help host Philadelphia to its fourth straight victory.
Blues 4, Blue Jackets 1 - Jay McClement had a goal and an assist in the first period, helping St. Louis end a five-game home losing streak.
Lightning 7, Capitals 4 - Martin St. Louis scored the go-ahead goal and host Tampa Bay ended a 12-game losing streak to Washington.
Thrashers 6, Senators 1 - Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists and host Atlanta posted its first regulation victory in 21 games.
Predators 5, Oilers 3 - Ryan Jones had a goal and two assists to help visiting Nashville hand Edmonton its 12th loss in 13 games.
Hurricanes 4, Maple Leafs 2 - Patrick Dwyer scored with less than 5 minutes left to give visiting Carolina the victory in a matchup of two of the league’s worst teams.
